Bucket excavator slidable on rigid guide particularly for frontal digging at vertical walls



Feb. 20, 1962 FAILLA 3,021,623

BUCKET EXCAVATOR SLIDABLE ON RIGID GUIDE PARTICULARLY FOR FRONTAL DIGGING AT VERTICAL WALLS Filed May 25, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 I Q rzrre fa 25 j iziu I 7 H'brni7 l. FAlLLA 3,021,623

LE 0N RIGID GUIDE PARTICULARLY FOR FRONTAL DIGGING AT VERTICAL WALLS Feb. 20, 1962 BUCKET EXCAVATOR SLIDAB 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 25, 1959 Feb. 20, 1962 LA 1,623

I. FAIL 3,02 BUCKET EXCAVATOR SLIDABLE ON RIGID GUIDE PARTICULARLY FOR FRONTAL DIGGING AT VERTICAL WALLS Filed May 25, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 BUCKET EXCAVATOR SLIDABLE ON RIGID GUIDE PARTEQULARLY FOR FRONTAL DIG- GlNG AT VERTICAL WALLE Ignazio Failia, Viale Bianca Maria 19, Milan, ltaly Filed May 25, 1959, Ser. No. 315,441 Claims priority, application lltaly May 28, 1958 11 tllairns. (Cl. 37-103) It is an object of the present invention to provide an excavator particularly suited for the digging of trenches at any depth, with vertical walls also at the face front, acting to excavate in the ground, from the starting level down to the desired depth, a trench having width equal to the width of the shovel and length equal to the straddle of said shovel, as well as to prolong the trench so made, in the longitudinal direction by frontal action of the shovel on the face front: said excavator is essentially constituted by a rigid guide on which there is slidable a slide at the lower end of which there is articulated the shovel bucket, said guide being supported vertically slidable on a supporting frame which may be displaceable on tracks or wheels, carrying two drive pulleys or winches, one for operating the slide and the rigid guide, the other one for operating the slide and the rotation of the shovel bucket, the two pulleys being provided with a reversing gear and a brake.

The invention is described with reference to some preferred embodiments illustrated diagrammatically, by way of example, in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 represents the side View of the unit at the starting of the first hole in the ground;

FIG. 2 shows a horizontal section taken along A-A;

FIG. 3 represents the shovel of the bucket in axonometric projection;

FIG. 4 shows the unit at the beginning of the longitudinal prosecution of the digging;

FIG. 5 represents the top view of the drive friction wheel acting upon a rope for operating the slide and guide;

FIG. 6 represents the assembling diagram of the rope for operating the slide and guide;

FEGS. 7-8-9 represent a different assembling diagram for the rope for controlling the slide and guide;

FIG. shows the discharge system for discharging the material excavated by the shovel, in the two positions of open and closed shovel;

FIG. 11 shows in detail the system for closing the shovel;

FIGS. 12-13-14 are particulars of the hooking-in and unhooking system for the bucket;

FIGS. -16-17 show the various stages of the hooking-in and unhooking operation of the bucket;

FIGS. 18-19-20-21 show in the various stages the system of automatic closing and opening of the shovel.

With reference to the drawings in FIGURE 1 with 1 is indicated the rigid guide, with 2 the slide, with 3 the assembly constituting the bucket and with 4 the supporting framing. On the guide 1 at top there is provided the double-throat tackle 5, along the front face the grooves 6 for the slide 2, and towards the lower end the tackle 7. The slide 2 slidable within the grooves 6, carries at top the group of tackles S and at bottom the pin 9; the stop 10 rigid with the guide 1 prevents further sliding of the slide downwards. The bucket 3 comprises the shovel 11 rotatable about the pin 14 and provided with an arm 12 (carrying the tackle 13) and with a sharp edge 25, and the rotatable arm 15 which in turn is rotatable about the pin 9 of the slide 2 and carries the pin 14. The support 4 provided with the tackles 16 and 17 respectively twoand single-throat, sustains the rigid guide 1 vertically slidable, by means of the collar 18 and the slidable support 19, and

EfiZlfiZii Patented Feb. 29, 1982 carries the winches 20 and 21 provided with motion in both directions as well as with brake.

With 22 is indicated a first operating rope coming from the drum of the winch 20 and passing subsequently over the tackles 1lfi5l3--8, destined to cause the rotations of the bucket in charging and in discharging.

With 23 is indicated a second rope coming from the drum of the winch 21, passing successively over the tackles 177 and fixed at its end at the bottom of the slide; with 24, a third rope passing successively over the tackles 16-5, fixed at its end at the top of the slide and coming from the same drum of the winch 21 on which it is wound up however in a sense contrary to 23.

In FIGURES 2-3 and 4 the numerals indicate the same parts as indicated in FIGURE 1.

Operation is as follows:

Having to start the excavation of the first hole, the initial position of the unit is indicated in FIGURE 1. By rotating at first, for instance clockwise, the winch 21, through the rope 23, fixed to the slide 1, in turn contrasting with the stop ill, one obtains, a certain lifting of the assembly of the guide, slide and bucket, which then by putting the winch 21. to idle, is allowed to fall back freely: thereby the bucket border 25 is driven into the ground, the shape and length of said border being such that it finds itself below the guide 1 and in alignment with its rear face. On having blocked the winch 21, now the rotation of the shovel is caused by actuating for instance in anticlockwise direction the winch 26 and winding up thereon the rope 22 which, since it passes over the tackle 5, contemporaneously induces in the guide 1 an effort downward which ensures its fixing to the ground in cooperation with the collar 18, and the slidable support 19, with the rope 23, as well as with possible reactions of the ground upon said guide. By etfect of the arrangement of the pins 14 and 9 and of the tackles 8 and 13 at the vertices of a quadrilateral with angles each smaller than the pull of the rope 22 causes the rotation of the shovel 10 at first about the pin 9 and then, on completion of the stroke of this first revolution, about the pin 14; since the pins 9 and 14 appear-at the beginning of each revolution-displaced forward with respect to the plane of the botom of the shovel terminated by the border 25, one obtains that said plane attacks the ground always at a positive angle, also under the guide 1.

During said rotations any movement upward of the pin 9 is prevented by the rope 23, because, as said, the winch 21 is blocked. In the course of the rotations, the bucket becomes filled with the material excavated; by the end of the second rotation of the shovel, since the anticlockwise movement of the winch 2i) continues, the winch 21 is unlocked and put to idle; thereby a downward movement of the guide 1 is obtained, until its tip touches the bottom of the excavation performed by the shovel, and the upward rising of the slide sliding in the groove 6 of the guide, together with the bucket totally rotated upward and full; when the bucket has reached the desired height, tilting is caused by blocking the winch 21 and by rotating the winch 20 anticlockwise; the material falling is collected on a special movable plane to be inserted under the bucket, and is removed. Now everything is brought back to the initial position of FIGURE 1 by rotating clockwise both the winch 2t) and the winch 21 and a series of operations identical to those described, thereby obtaining the deepening of the excavation up to the maximum depth allowed by the length of the guide 1.

Since now the excavation has to be extended in longitudinal direction, the guide 1 is displaced toward the face front: to that end the slide is blocked provisionally to the guide at the upper end of its stroke and, therefore, the guide is lifted by rotating the winch 21 in anticlockwise direction, until liberating the tip from the ground and permitting its displacement forward together with the support 4. When the desired position is attained, the tip of the guide is driven by falling into the bottom of the excavation thereby obtaining the position reproduced in FIG. 4. On release of the slide from the guide, the excavation is started, making the bucket fall onto the ground with the clockwise rotation of the winches 20 and 21 and causing then rotation thereof by blocking the winch 21 and rotating the winch 20 anticlockwise. In that stage the guide 1 is fixed by the action of the rope 22, together with the support 4, the rope 23 and the reaction of the ground on the tip of said guide.

The lifting and discharging of the bucket is analogous to that already described.

Excavation is carried on until reaching the desired level and then the guide is displaced again toward the face front, by repeating the operations described.

In FIGURES to 21 are illustrated some variants which concern the system of the operating ropes and the system of discharging the shovel. Namely the two ropes that served to the operation of the slide and the guide are replaced by the two branches of one single rope wound with n windings in a drive wheel provided with reverse motion and with brake, and this according to two possible assembling schemes; moreover the rope that served for the rotation of the shovel is now utilised also for the ascending and descending movement of the slide as well as for the operation of discharge of the shovel, which operation takes place by means of opening of said shovel; finally a system is described which is adapted to obtain mechanically the hooking-in and the unhooking of the bucket with respect to the slide, and another system which is adapted to open and to close mechanically the opening hook of the shovel.

With 101 is indicated the friction wheel carried by the supporting framing 102 and provided with motion in both directions and with braking means, whereon there is wound up a number of windings sufiicient for the trans mission of the movement to the rope 103 for operation of the guide 104 and of the slide 105; 106 and 107 are two single-throat tackles carried by the support 102; 108 and 109 are two single-throat carried by the guide 104 towards its two ends; 110 and 111 are two double-throat tackles carried by the guide 104 towards its two ends; 112 and 113 are two single-throat tackles placed on the slide 105; 114 is a turn-buckle for the rope 103; 115 and 116 are the fastenings of the ends of the rope 103 to the support 102; 117 and 118 are the fastening of the ends of the rope 103 to the slide 105; 119 is the bucket, constituted by the shovel 120, the vertical sides whereof are pivotally supported at 121 on eye-braces carried by part of the bottom 122 which remains rigid with the fixed arm 123, pivoted in turn at 124 to the rotatable arm 125 which is loose on the pin 126 carried by the slide 105; 127 is a tackle with n throats, supported at the upper end of the slide 105; 128 is a tackle with m throats supported at the end of the arm 123; 129 is the rope for operating the bucket, coming from the drum of a winch carried by the basement 102, passing over the tackle 130, placed at the summit of the guide 104, in the tackles 127 and 128 n times, and fixed at its end at 131 to the rotatable part of the shovel 120; 132 is a pin projecting from the arm 123; 133 is a hook adapted to hook-in the pin 132 on control; 134 is a projection carried by that part of the shovel 120, which is rotatable with respect to the fixed part 122, and limiting said relative rotation; 135 is the springed hook for closing the shovel, constituted by the rod 136, by the spring 137, by the head 138, by the perforated lamina 139; 140 is the end-of-stroke abutment between the tackles 127 and 128; 141 are two supports fixed to the arm 123 and carrying the roller 132; 143 are two ribs fixed to the slide 105 and parallel, carrying the pin 144 and the stop 147, adapted to supply a sliding surface for the roller 132; 145 is a heavy shaped member essentially in the shape of a sickle with its lower tip 133 curved by way of a hook with the slot 146; 147 is a pin, carried loosely by the arm 123, whereon is pivoted the wheel 148, which in turn can rotate, for instance anticlockwise, freely and in opposed direction rigid with the pin; 149 is a cam having the shape of an ellipse, pivoted rigidly on 147; 150 is a pin carried by the wheel 148 whereon there is pivoted the link 151, which at its opposed end carries the roller 132; 152 is a return spring for the pin 150; 153 is the fulcrum, carried by the arm 123, of the oscillating lever 154, actuated by the plate 149 and actuating the springed hook 135.

Operation is as follows: The rope 103 (FIGURES 5-6) is wound on the drive friction wheel 101 a number n of times, adapted to ensure the transmission of movement; hence its two branches pass through the tackles 106 and 107 of the support 102, over the tackles 108 and 109 of the ends of the guide 104 and are fixed at 117 and 118 to the slide a turnbuckle 114 inserted on one of the two branches permits to tension the rope as desired.

The movement, for instance in anticlockwise direction, of the drive wheel, causes the slide to ascend again along the guide; clockwise movement causes the descent of the slide along the guide, and when this has attained the lower end-of-stroke, the re-ascent of the guide rigidly with the slide; the stopping of the drive wheel causes the blocking of the guide-and-slide system in the position reached.

As a variant (FIGURES 7-8-9) to diminish the driving effort, the rope 103, wound up as above on the wheel 101, passes with one branch over the tackle 106 of the support, over a throat of the tackle placed at the summit of the guide 104, over the tackle 112 carried by the slide 105, over the second throat of the tackle 110 and then is fixed to the support at with its other branch it passes over the tackle 107 of the support, over one throat of the tackle 111 placed above the lower tip of the guide, over the tackle 113 carried by the slide, over the second throat of the tackle 111 and then is fixed at 116 to the support; a turnbuckle 114 inserted on one of the, two branches of the rope, permits to tension the rope at will.

The movement of the drive wheel in both directions and its stoppage, causes, with half as great an effort, the same effects as indicated above.

The rope 129 (FIGURES lO-l5-16-17) coming from the drum of a winch carried by the support 102, passes over the tackle placed at the summit of the guide 104, is wound up n times over the tackles 127 and 128 and then its end is fixed at 131 to the shovel 120. By winding the rope 129 up on the drum of the winch, there is caused at first the rotation of the shovel upward and the approaching of the tackles 127 and 128 until these abut at (FIG. 16), whereafter the re-ascent of the system slide-bucket is caused along the guide, inducing contemporaneously in the guide an axial stress downward; by releasing the rope 129 the descent of the slide is caused along the yard and, when the slide has reached the lower end-of-stroke, the tackles 127 and 128 are taken away, which operation is completed by the lifting of the guide by action of the rope 103 and, so completed, enables the shovel to return to its initial excavating position.

The rotation for the loading of the shovel takes place firstly around the pin 124 and then around the pin 126, owing to the particular location of the pins 124 and 126 of the tackle 128, which are arranged in such a way as to form an angle with the vertex at 124, smaller than In order to make discharge of the excavated material easier, the shovel is articulated in two pieces, of which one, namely a part of the bottom 122, is rigid with the fixed arm 123 and carries the two supports of the pin 121, whereon there rotates the second piece 120 of the shovel: a stop 134 limits that relative rotation while the springed hook 135 fixes the two parts to each other in the position of closed shovel. The hook is constituted by a rod 136 slidable rigidly with 122, provided with a head 133, and with a collar whereon rests a helical spring.

that tends to keep said rod pushed outwards and engaged in a slot carried by the plate 139 rigid with 121). Moreover, the fixed arm 123 carries the projecting pin 132 which on control can be fixed to the hook rigid with the slide.

Operation is as follows:

The rope 129 is supposed to have been wound up on the drum until causing re-ascent of the slide-bucket assembly to surface level; by blocking the rope 103, one blocks the slide on the guide, and with the hook 133 one grips the pin 132; it is then possible to release the rope 129 without causing any movement, and to open the hook 135 by lifting the rod 136 by hand, which by compressing the spring 137 projects out of the slot of the plate 139: when said hooking-in is obtained, the rope 129 is put again in pull thereby causing the rotation of the part 120 of the shovel about the pins 121 carried by the part of the bottom 122 that remains standstill, and, therefore, the opening of the shovel with discharge of the material; the rotation is limited by the nose 134 carried by 124} that strikes against 122. After emptying the shovel, the rope 129 is loosened and the part 120 of the shovel returns by gravity to rotate in contrary sense about the pins 121, thereby closing the shovel, while the rod 136, no longer lifted, returns to engage in the bottom of the plate 139.

When the hook 135 is closed, the rope 129 is put again in pull and the pin 132 is released from the hook 133; then the rope 103 is unlocked and the slide-andbucket assembly is descended along the guide, while unrolling the rope 129, and a new excavating operation is carried on.

The fastening of the arm 123 to the slide 105 can be obtained automatically with the device illustrated in H6- URES 12l314-1516, in which the two parallel ribs 143, fixed to the slide 105, are connected with each other by a pin 144, which is introduced into the slot 146 of the movable shaped member 145; when the pin 144 is at one of the two ends of the slot the member 145 assumes one or the other of thetwo positions indicated in FIG. 15 and in FIG. 16 (wherein it also rests on the stop 147 carried by the ribs 143), making either the upper tip or the lower hook project from the upper limb of the ribs 143; the arm 123 carries through the two fixed supports 141, the roll with horizontal axis 132.

Operation is as follows:

During the last period of the movement of rotation upwards of the bucket, as caused by the rope 129, the roll 132 runs upward on the limb of the ribs 143 and by acting upon its upper tip it obliges the member 145 to pass from the position described in FIG. 15 to that indicated in FIG. 16; by continuing to wind the rope 129 up on the drum one obtains as already described (on completion of the stroke of the tackles 128), the re-ascent of the slide-and-bucket assembly along the guide up to a desired height: then the slide is blocked in the position reached, by blocking the rope 153; the rope 129 is unwound rapidly in such a way that the roller 132 While returning back along the limb of the ribs 143, is taken between the lower hook of the member 145, displaced as in FIGURE 17, and said limb of the ribs 143.

Then one proceeds to open and close the shovel as indicated hereinbefore to release the roller 142 one must slightly lift it along the limb of the ribs 143 by winding up the rope 129 until the hook of the member 145 slips off by effect of its own weight and returns to the position indicated in FIG. 15, and liberating completely the roller 132 in its downward movement.

The operation of opening and closing the hook 135 of the shovel, in lieu of by hand, may be obtained mechanically with the device illustrated in FIGURES 18-21. Therein the roller 132 which as said hooks-in with the hook of the member 145, is carried by the rod 151 and can have by effect of the weight of the assembly (if it hooks-in) a limited sliding along the arm 123. Said sliding (FIG. 19) is such that if transmitted by the rod 151 to the wheel 148 the latter turns by one fourth of revolution in clockwise direction, inducing the same rotation, through the rod 147, to the elliptic cam 149 which placing itself with its greater axis vertical, lifts through the oscillating lever 154 the rod of the hook 135. When the shovel is opened, on pulling the rope 129 the roller 132 detaches itself from the hook, obtaining (FIG. 20) by effect of the return spring 152 the return of the wheel 148, of the rod 151, and of the roller 132 to the initial position, while .the plate 149, the oscillating lever 154 and the rod of the hook 135 remain in the opening position, because the pin 147 is not moved in anticlockwise direction by the wheel 148; by loosening the rope 129 to make the roller 132 bear again against the hook, one obtains (FIG. 21) a new rotation in anticlockwise direction by of the wheel 148 and of the plate 149, which is placed with its smaller axis vertical, releasing through the oscillating lever the rod of the hook 135, which is again capable of gripping the perforated plate 139 when the shovel is closed again by loosening further the rope 129. The further lifting of the roller 132 from the hook brings the system back to the position of FIG. 18.

I claim: v

1. An excavator comprising a support, an elongated guide disposed in vertical relation alongside said support, a collar carried by said support and connecting said guide to said support for vertical sliding movement, said guide having a lower pointed end for penetrating the ground, a slide carried by said guide for vertical sliding movement relative to said guide, an arm pivotally mounted on the lower portion of said slide, a depending bucket pivotally connected to the lower end of said arm, said bucket being engageable with said arm after a limited upward pivotal movement of said bucket relative to said arm to effect continued upward movement of said bucket and said arm as a unit, whereby said bucket first pivots upwardly with a short lever action and then swings upwardly with a long lever action, first means carried by said support and connected to said bucket for effecting pivoting and swinging of said bucket, and second means carried by said support and connected to said slide for raising and lowering the same.

2. The excavator of claim 1 wherein the pivot between said arm and said bucket is off center whereby the border of the bucket swings towards said guide when said bucket is released.

3. The excavator of claim 1 wherein said bucket is formed in two sections, and said sections are connected together by an upper pivot and a lower latch to effect the dumping of the contents of said bucket, and cooperating means on said bucket and said slide for latching said bucket in an elevated position during the dumping operation.

4. The excavator of claim 1 wherein said bucket is formed in two sections, and said sections are connected together by an upper pivot and a lower latch to effect the dumping of the contents of said bucket, and cooperating means on said bucketand said slide. for latching said bucket in an elevated position during the dumping operation, said first means including a cable terminally connected to said bucket for pivoting one of said bucket sections relative to the other when the bucket is latched in said elevated position.

5. The excavator of claim 1 wherein said bucket is formed of a rear section and a front section, upper pivot means pivotally connecting upper opposed portions of said bucket sections, lower latch means releasably connected together with lower portions of said bucket sections, an elongated arm rigidly connected to said rear section and extending upwardly therefrom, said first means including a cable connectedto said elongated arm, a hook carried by said slide, and a pin projecting from said elongated arm for cooperation with said hook to retain said bucket in an elevated dumping position.

6. The excavator of claim 5 wherein said cable is terminally connected to bucket front section for pivoting said bucket front section upwardly to a dumping position when said bucket is latched in said elevated dumping position.

7. The excavator of claim 5 wherein said hook has means for automatically positioning said hook for en- 'gagement by said pin.

8. The excavator of claim 5 wherein said elongated arm has means slidably mounting said pin, and means connected to said pin for automatically actuating said latch means in response to the engagement and release of said pin by said hook.

9. The excavator of claim 8 wherein said means connected to said pin includes a rotatable cam, a return spring urging said cam to an inoperative position, a rod connecting said pin to said cam for eifecting rotation of said cam, and a lever engaged with said cam and said latch means to release said latch means upon initial rotation of said cam by said rod and to engage said latch means upon return rotation of said cam by said return spring.

10. The excavator of claim 1 wherein said guide pointed end slopes downwardly and away from said slide with the point of said guide being disposed along a plane of said guide disposed remote from said slide, and the pivot between said arm and said bucket being ofi center whereby theborder of said bucket swings towards said guide when said bucket is released and said bucket is movable beneath said guide to excavate beneath said guide.

11. The excavator of claim 1 wherein said second means includes a cable having opposite ends secured to opposite ends of said slide, a winch on said support, an intermediate portion of said cable being reeled on said winch, an upper pulley on the upper end of said guide and a lower pulley on said guide adjacent said guide pointed end, an elevated pulley on said support, that portion of said cable connected to said slide upper end passing over said upper pulley and that portion of said cable connected to said slide lower end passing over said elevated cable and beneath said lower pulley, and a stop on said guide engage'able by said slide to restrict downward movement of said slide and effect the elevation of said guide, slide and bucket as a unit upon the continued exertion of a downward pull on said slide by said cable.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,902,691 Downie Mar. 21, 1933 1,962,363 Reirnel et al June 12, 1934 2,822,671 Dentz et al Feb. 11, 1958 2,928,561 Faure Mar..15, 1960 

